It will be Christmas before we know it...

Finished things so far this month:

Coasters for one of my knitting friends -


My 3rd Melody shawl - which took forever 'cause it lived in my purse.



My Flourish shawl in Sundara ASM - Viridescent -

And a summer shawl in Color-Changing Cotton -

I have made a few purchases lately, but I'm still well in the green so far this quarter.

Have not cast on for that lightweight cardi yet. Currently working on an old UFO and a new grey alpaca shawl. Within the next week I should be able to start my next test knit for Romi. Check it out on her blog - it's gorgeous! http://rosemarygoround.blogspot.com/2010/06/7-small-shawls-t-205-days-and-counting.html

May Update

Lots of Finished Objects this month!

A baby blanket that has been languishing for a year -


A test-knit shawl - Merope -



Tweedy Textured Shawl in that yummy Knit Picks City Tweed DK I mentioned last month -

A small shawl in gorgeous Madelinetosh DK in the Amber Trinket colorway -

Brandywine -

A bag that had been languishing for 2 years -

and my Ribbed Pullover -

Details (patterns/yarn) are on my ravelry pages.

Only down a bit over 6K yards now. (I went to the Sedalia Fiber Festival - need I say more?)

Currently working on a cotton shawl and still planning to cast on for a lightweight summer cardigan in that pretty Bee Pollen Yarn Chef Buttercream.

End of April Update

Wandering the Moor in Yarn Chef Mulligatawny - Midnight Showers

Citron in Knit Picks Shadow - Sunset

Abalone in Yarn Chef Daube - Storm Goddess

Still working on that green raglan.

Have gotten a good start on my Bramblewine shawl.

Destashed a bunch of yarn. Bought some more Yarn Chef and Madelinetosh and Knit Picks City Tweed DK which I've been eager to try.

Next sweater will be some sort of drapey summer laceweight cardigan in this -

Still pondering the next shawl.

Down 7,000 yard so far this quarter.

Mid-April Update

My finished afghan! This was fun - I really enjoyed playing with color combinations. Too bad I had to pack it away for warm weather already, but it will be a treat to pull out next fall.





Abalone is also done, but I don't have good pictures yet. I'm about 1/3 way through with a simple ribbed raglan in this yarn -

I am in the process of casting off my Citron. 540 stitches take awhile. I have my yarn wound and my pattern printed for Wandering the Moor. I'm using a pretty dark blue fingering from Yarn Chef. (I seem to be on a Yarn Chef kick lately.)

I am well in the green for stashdown* this quarter so far, even when taking into account the yarn I ordered today - more Yarn Chef! I sold a sweater's worth of cotton yarn, gave a skein of Aran Silky Merino for a contest prize, and gave away a Philosopher's Wool sweater kit. That's on top of finishing an afghan and a sweater.

*stashdown is a joint effort by a group of confessed yarn snobs on ravelry to reduce the size of our stashes! We've realized that we really don't need enough yarn for 50 sweaters, 100 shawls, 100 pairs of socks, etc. Personally, I'm trying to make sure a lot more goes out (via finished projects, sales, and gifts) than comes in until I get my stash to a less overwhelming size. Right now it fills up 12 bins and a drawer. I think about 1/3 of that would be more reasonable.

Spring is here

I did get the afghan seamed. It is blocking on my bed at the moment. Still have a bunch of ends to weave in so it won't technically be done until tomorrow (or whenever I finish those ends.)

I did cast on for Abalone. Am about 1/3 done.

Still plugging along on Citron. Only one section left before the ruffled edging, but the rows are getting longer and longer.

Melody III is hanging out in the purse and getting a bit knit on it every now and then.

When I finish Citron, I plan to cast on for Brandywine in Yarn Chef's Mulligatawny in the Bramblebush colorway, or Wandering the Moor in Yarn Chef's Mulligatawny in the Midnight Showers colorway. When I finish Abalone, I think I'll do the Vine Bolero I was thinking about last time. The yarn (Sundara's Aran Silky Merino) is the same base as the Yarn Chef Daube I'm knitting with now. I'm trying to keep myself down to one shawl and one sweater plus the ever-present purse Melody.

In the first quarter of Stashdown, I knit/sold/gave away 2.6 times as much yarn as I bought. I'm okay with that. I was actually able to free up a few yarn storage containers. I need to keep that ratio for the rest of the year to get the stash down to a managable, less guilt-inducing level.

April plans -

- finish Merrywood II

- finish Citron

- finish Abalone

- start and finish another shawl

- start and finish another sweater

Mid-March Update

Best Winter Ever is over looks like. But after 3 snowfalls over 10" and snow still around until about a week ago (and almost continuously since the first snowfall in mid-December) I'm actually looking forward to spring this year.

In knitting news:

Finally finished my constantly morphing tee. I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to make with this yarn, but never ripped out what I'd already done. I can't believe it turned out this well!

The yarn is Yarn Chef's Cider sport weight in Log Cabin. Love it.

And all my afghan blocks are done - here are the last 3:

I may or may not seam them together before the end of the month. We'll see.

Right now I'm trying to finish my Citron shawl and then I want to knit another sweater or two before it gets too warm. I have lots of shawls queued to work on this spring/summer when it's just too hot to have a sweater on your lap. I have 19 patterns and yarns matched up on my ravelery project page (status: hibernating) but have yet to decide which is next. If I want to knit something I can wear before next fall, that leaves Abalone, Loppem II, Raindance, Vine Bolero, Green Gable, Pas de Valse, and a raglan I will make up as I go.

Thinking out loud...

Abalone - a short-sleeved open-front cardi. Yarn: Yarn Chef Daube (50/50 wool/silk worsted single) in a pretty blue green (I think - it's not here yet.)

Loppem II - loved the first one so much I want to knit it again. Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Chinatown Apple. It may be too soon to make this again though.

Raindance - a short-sleeved tee with a keyhold back. Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in a blue-grey.

Vine Bolero - lacey cardigan. Yarn - Sundara Aran Silky Merino (same yarn as YC Daube) in a gorgeous green.

Green Gable - a simple tee with a lacey bodice. Yarn - Sundara Sport Merino in an awesome brown/turquoise combination.

Pas de Valse - a loose, swingy cardigan knit at a fine gauge. Yarn - Yarn Chef Mulligatawny in either a pale terracotta or a medium blue.

Raglan - I want to make a ribbed raglan in a pretty green Yarn Chef Cafe au Lait.

Abalone would be quick and wearable. I did just finish Loppem #1. Felted Tweed is probably a bit too wooly to wear by the time I finished it. Vine Bolero would also be quick and wearable, but I'm not sure I want to make another green cardi right now. Green Gable would be good. Pas de Valse would be a bit of a slog. Maybe I should save that for trip knitting. The raglan would have long sleeves, so maybe that should wait 'til fall.

That leaves Abalone, Vine Bolero, or Green Gable. Right now I'm thinking Abalone. I could wear that up through May probably.

Thanks for helping me decide! ;o)

February Update

My not-quite-finished ravelympics project - I was hoping to complete 17 afghan squares, but only finished 15.5 due to injury. Earlier this month I finished my Loppem in Sundara Worsted. My current favorite sweater!

Goals set/accomplished for the month:

- Loppem in Sundara Worsted - DONE! (see pic above)

- Citron in Shadow - started but set aside for ravelympics

- 19 (what was I thinking?!) afghan squares - 16.5 completed. (15.5 during ravelympics plus one made beforehand)

I don't feel like setting goals for March. I will knit whatever I want to knit. Gosh.

In February I did manage to knit/destash 8682 yards and only acquired 3021, so that's a Stashwin!